Having contributed to the 2025 Capgemini World Payments Report, Anthony Walton, CEO of Iliad Solutions, summarises why robust payment testing is critical.
For the last twenty years, the Capgemini World Payments Report has kept the industry abreast of the latest developments, thinking and innovations in the payments space. It’s quite astonishing how payments have developed in this time. I was pleased to be a contributor to the 2025 edition.
Since my introduction to the industry in the late 1980s, I’ve been part of a community developing innovative payment testing solutions to support the latest payment technology being introduced.
Today, in a time of accelerated change, payment testing should be at the forefront of financial institutions’ thinking, allowing them to adopt these new payment advances successfully.
Here are several key developments to consider concerning payment testing:
Increasing Complexity of Payment Systems – With the rise of digital wallets, real-time payments, blockchain, and cross-border transactions, payment systems have become more intricate. Testing ensures seamless interoperability between different payment networks and platforms.
Regulatory Compliance – Governments and financial authorities are tightening regulations around fraud prevention, consumer protection, and data security (e.g., PSD2 in Europe, FedNow in the U.S.). Rigorous testing ensures compliance with these evolving legal requirements.
Cybersecurity & Fraud Prevention – With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated, financial institutions must test for vulnerabilities in payment infrastructures. Ensuring security in APIs, encryption, and fraud detection mechanisms is critical to preventing data breaches and financial losses.
Seamless Customer Experience – Consumers expect instant, frictionless transactions. Payment testing helps financial institutions detect and eliminate latency, transaction failures, and processing errors, ensuring a smooth user experience.
AI & Automation in Payments – AI-driven fraud detection and automated payment processing require extensive testing to validate accuracy and prevent false positives or system failures that could disrupt transactions.
Emerging Technologies & Innovation – New payment methods such as Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), biometric authentication, and decentralised finance (DeFi) demand thorough testing to guarantee reliability and security before large-scale adoption.
High-Volume Transaction Processing – With the growing volume of digital transactions, especially during peak periods (e.g., Black Friday, global sales events), stress testing ensures that systems can handle massive loads without crashing.
Integration with Third-Party Services – Open banking and fintech partnerships require seamless API integrations. Payment testing ensures smooth connectivity between banks, fintech companies, and merchants, reducing transaction errors.
Risk Mitigation & Business Continuity – Payment system failures can lead to reputational damage, regulatory fines, and financial losses. Regular testing helps institutions identify risks early and implement failover mechanisms to maintain uninterrupted operations.
Globalisation & Cross-Border Payments – With more businesses and consumers engaging in international transactions, testing ensures that multi-currency processing, exchange rates, and compliance with international standards like SWIFT and ISO 20022 function correctly.
In 2025, as digital payments continue to evolve at speed, rigorous payment testing has to remain at the forefront of payment providers’ thinking. This will ensure the success of new payment systems being introduced whilst maintaining financial stability, security, and customer trust.